Letters to the editor, Huntsville Times, Saturday March 20

Natural gas gougingHUNTSVILLE, Ala. _ Huntsville city school officials say they need more money. They have asked the city of Huntsville for help. There is talk of a raise in taxes.

The city of Huntsville is having financial problems of its own. There are no discussions on how to handle the budget deficit and whether to fire people. Social Security recipients and retired federal employees did not get a cost of living increase for 2010.

Meanwhile, Huntsville Utilities continues to price gouge the rate payers. The price of natural gas is still at a relatively low level and, according to commodity experts, will remain low until the economy improves.

Today, the spot price for natural gas is $4.50 per 1,000 cubic feet. Last month, the rate payers paid almost $12 per 1,000 cubic feet. The record shows that the average eight-year spot price has been about $5 per 1,000 cubic feet with a low of $2.50 as recently as 2009.

One of the major expenses for most residents is the cost of utilities. The question is whether Huntsville Utilities will give their employees a raise for 2010 or be reasonable with their monopolistic power and get their charges in line with the rest of the country.James E. AsquithHuntsville 35802

Airline goofHuntsville's airport managers told the city they wanted a low-cost carrier to offer better fares for flights.

I never understood them to say we want better fares for flights only to Washington, D.C., and to Disneyworld, but that is what they are giving us. It is pure pablum.

This is an area of very bright people. Don't you think we can see right through your poor decisions? We want better prices on flights all over the U.S., not just to two spots.

What a waste of grant money. You just subsidized several months of our next future bankrupt airline, you solved nothing, and you are trying to pull the wool over Huntsville's eyes. Why didn't you go after Southwest Airlines like everyone keeps suggesting? Shame on you for your decisions!Joe M. ZulloHuntsville, 35801

Defending UAHJack Levin of Northeastern University in Boston was quoted in the Christian Science Monitor about the Amy Bishop shooting at UAH.

Specifically, he referenced being denied tenure at "an out of the way, obscure rural campus in the Deep South."

While Levin may know something about sociology and criminology, he clearly has shown his ignorance about geography. Huntsville, Ala., is neither out of the way, obscure or rural.

To imply that UAH is some second class institution on some backwoods dirt road quite simply shows that his big city ultra liberal elitist philosophy has clouded his ability to think clearly.

Huntsville's location had nothing to do with the tragic events of Feb. 12. The fact of the matter is that if Amy Bishop had stayed at Harvard, we in Alabama would be much better off, and three people would be alive today. If she had been at Northeastern University, would Levin have said the same thing?

Levin made reference to her failing to obtain tenure as a catastrophic loss (to her), but what about the loss to all her former students?

Levin's comments seem to be defensive to her when it would appear she should have been fired earlier rather than later.Donald W. HarrisMontgomery, 36117

Support cancer study

What if you could make it so just one family never had to hear the words "you have cancer?" What if you could personally participate in research that could help determine factors that cause or prevent cancer?

What if that research ultimately leads to the elimination of cancer as a major health problem for future generations?

This year, residents across the Tennessee Valley can be a part of this historic research effort by enrolling in the American Cancer Society's Cancer Prevention Study-3.

On April 30 at Relay For Life of Huntsville at John Hunt Park from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., residents can sign up to participate in the research they support.

Individuals between the ages of 30-65, with no personal history of cancer and who are willing to make a long-term commitment to the study are eligible to enroll.

Those who choose to will complete a brief introductory questionnaire and provide a waist measurement and a small blood sample. Enrollment will take 20-30 minutes.

Once enrolled, a participant's 20-30 year commitment to the study will involve completing a mailed survey every 2 years.

If you are unable to enroll, please be an advocate for Cancer Prevention Study-3. Encourage those close to you to take part in this potentially life-saving study in your honor. Call 888-604-5888 or visit twww.cancer.org/cps3.Hanna Jon IngramOwen Cross Roads, 35763

Sikes was sure rabbit's feet and four-leaf clovers were the sole source of this excessive good fortune.

So Sikes is online shopping for four-leaf clovers and rabbits' feet and he's leaving his car at home and taking his truck to carry home his winnings.

Brings back memories of 1953 Los Angeles, Calif. A new Ford cost less than $3,000 and gasoline was 26 cents per gallon. A co-worker drove his old $400 clunker to Las Vegas, rabbit foot in pocket.

The goal - to leave the old clunker there and come home in a new vehicle. It worked. He came home in a $100,000 Greyhound bus.Donald J. HankeyHuntsville 35803

Single payer storyHave you ever lived in one of these countries? I have for 26 years. Here's a true story from Denmark.

My friend went to the doctor because of unexplained symptoms in her head. He sent her to a specialist. It took three months for the appointment.

There is a rule in Denmark that you have to be seen within 90 days or be accommodated in another city. That specialist wanted to have a CT scan - another three months wait. Then two weeks wait for the result. More tests were needed, so another three months wait for a MRI. More wait for the result, which turned out to be a tumor.

By now it was summer vacation time. Most hospitals shut down to only urgent care for three weeks. The Danes have six weeks of vacation a year and that takes more time to let everybody have time off. The wait for surgery was five months and in another city; while the tumor grew and the symptoms got worse.

The care was good, when she finally got it, but we can expect the same or worse in the USA with 300 million people compared to only 5 million Danes. The tax rate in Denmark is 68 percent and most people have additional private insurance to go to a private hospital without the wait. There has to be a better way.

Anne Lise A. McGeeHarvest, 35749

Griffith expensiveI received two campaign brochures from Congressman Griffith. What frosts my pumpkin is that I paid for this political propaganda.

The second one took nerve, especially after the uproar over the legality of the first brochure!

The first one, multiple pages on glossy pamphlet paper, cost probably $3 each to get printed and at least $.42 to mail.

He sent out 90,000 and if my math is correct it cost us about $307,000. The second one, a 2/3 page folded glossy probably cost $1.50 each to print and $.42 to mail and that comes to another $138,000. (Almost half a million dollars total)

And this is the guy that talks about Obama wasting government money? Why couldn't he pay for these political advertisements out of the millions he has in his war chest (provided by Democrats who supported him prior to his abandonment of the voters who voted for him).

A year or so ago, this guy was touting health care in meetings throughout his area as a necessity and now he campaigns to destroy the very health care plan that he said many of his constitutes needed in order to get adequate health care.

P.D. KashefskaOwens Cross Roads, 35763

Protect parksI'm an eighth-grader at Huntsville Middle School. My family and I go hiking a lot in our state and national parks.

We want to protect them from pollution and people moving on to them. If the parks are ruined, there's no getting them back. I also want them preserved so everyone can enjoy them in the future.Scott C. BozemanHuntsville, 35801